'Kill switch' bill for mobile devices takes aim at theft

Updated 4:38 am, Saturday, February 8, 2014

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

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State Lawmakers approved a measure by State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco that will place a constitutional amendment on the June ballot, that would require local governments to follow the California Public Records Act, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013. By a unanimous vote, the Assembly approved Leno's SCA3, that was proposed in response to a media outcry over changes that loosened requirements on how local governments handle request for information (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) less

State Lawmakers approved a measure by State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco that will place a constitutional amendment on the June ballot, that would require local governments to follow the California Public ... more

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

'Kill switch' bill for mobile devices takes aim at theft

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Smartphones and other mobile devices in California would have to have a "kill switch" that would render them inoperable if lost or stolen, under what state Sen. Mark Leno bills as first-of-its-kind legislation in the nation.

Mobile device thefts account for 67 percent of all robberies in San Francisco, and in Oakland the figure is 75 percent. Leno, D-San Francisco, said Friday that the bill he introduced this week would protect users by requiring that companies include technology through which cell phones and tablets can be rendered inoperable by remote control.

"This is a crime of convenience, and if we end the convenience, we end the crime," Leno said at a San Francisco press conference.

State Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, said that if Leno's SB962 clears the Senate, she will carry the legislation in her chamber. The police chiefs of Oakland and San Francisco and elected leaders including Oakland Mayor Jean Quan stood with her during Leno's announcement, and they all said they anticipate stiff pushback from manufacturers because wireless firms indirectly benefit from thefts.

The replacement of lost and stolen mobile devices is a $30 billion-a-year business in the U.S., they said, and wireless carriers collectively make at least $7.8 billion on theft and loss insurance.

"A business model based on the victimization of customers is not a business model worth defending," Leno said.

CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for wireless providers, says that kill switches leave devices open to hacking and that it prefers to promote other methods, such as use of national stolen-device databases.

"These 3G and 4G/LTE databases, which blacklist stolen phones and prevent them from being reactivated, are part of the solution," Michael Altschul, the association's senior vice president, wrote in an e-mail Friday. "Yet we need more international carriers and countries to participate to help remove the after-market abroad for these trafficked devices."

Government records show that the theft of about 1.5 million smartphones every year constitutes as much as 40 percent of all robberies in the nation.

Apple offers a kill switch on its iPhones, but it is optional. Leno's bill would require all mobile devices to install kill switches, and although it would give buyers the option to disable the switches, it would outlaw companies from encouraging people to do so.

Violations of the law would bring civil penalties of $500 to $2,500. Leno is aiming to have the bill on the governor's desk by September.

Sprint spokeswoman Crystal Davis said in an e-mail that "while open to a kill switch option, Sprint remains concerned that 'permanent' kill switches could lead to unintended consequences for customers, reputable recycling programs, and legitimate used or trade-in devices, given that many devices reported lost or stolen are subsequently found by their owners."

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, who has been pursuing kill switch legislation with Leno for more than a year, called the industry's responses "disingenuous."

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